Latest news with #RussianConsulate
Bloomberg
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Poland to Shut Second Russian Consulate Over Sabotage Claims
Poland ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Krakow after saying it has proof that a large fire in the country's capital last year was ordered by Moscow's secret services, according to the Polish foreign minister. The decision, announced by Radoslaw Sikorski in an X post on Monday, comes as governments across Europe grapple with the growing threat of Russian-sponsored acts of sabotage. Concerns about hybrid war are keenly felt in Poland, a state on NATO's eastern flank which borders Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad, Belarus and Ukraine.
Al Arabiya
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Poland to close Russian consulate in Krakow, citing arson attack
Poland will close the Russian consulate in Krakow after finding evidence that Moscow was responsible for a massive fire that almost completely destroyed a Warsaw shopping center in May 2024, the Polish foreign minister said on Monday. Already tense relations between Warsaw and Moscow have hit new lows since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Poland says its own role as a hub for aid for Kyiv has made it a target of Russian sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation - allegations that Moscow denies. On Sunday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland knew 'for sure' that Russian secret services were behind the huge fire on Marywilska Street in the capital. 'Due to evidence that the Russian special services committed a reprehensible act of sabotage against the shopping center on Marywilska Street, I have decided to withdraw my consent to the operation of the Consulate of the Russian Federation in Krakow,' Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on X. The Russian foreign ministry said Poland was cutting its ties with Moscow on purpose, state news agency RIA reported. 'Warsaw continues to deliberately destroy relations, acting against the interests of its citizens,' state news agency RIA quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying. She added that Russia would soon deliver an 'adequate response.' In October, Poland announced it would shut down the Russian consulate in Poznan due to suspected Russian attempts at sabotage. Russia closed the Polish consulate in St. Petersburg in response. In addition to Krakow and Poznan, Russia has a consulate in Gdansk and its embassy in Warsaw. In March, Lithuanian prosecutors accused Russia's military intelligence of orchestrating an arson attack on an IKEA store in Vilnius, which broke out three days before the shopping center fire in neighboring Poland. Russia has denied involvement in the arson attacks.
Bloomberg
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Poland to Close Another Russian Consulate Over Sabotage Claims
Poland ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Krakow after saying it has proof that a large fire in the country's capital last year was ordered by Moscow's secret services, according to the Polish foreign minister. The decision, announced by Radoslaw Sikorski in an X post on Monday, comes as governments across Europe grapple with the growing threat of Russian-sponsored acts of sabotage. Concerns about hybrid war are keenly felt in Poland, a state on NATO's eastern flank which borders Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad, Belarus and Ukraine.
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Poland orders closure of Russian consulate in Krakow, citing arson attack blamed on Moscow
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said Monday that he was ordering the closure of Russia's consulate in the southern city of Krakow after Polish authorities said Russia was responsible for a fire that destroyed a shopping center in Warsaw last year. 'In connection with the evidence that the Russian special services committed a reprehensible act of sabotage against the shopping center on Marywilska Street, I have decided to withdraw my consent to the operation of the consulate of the Russian Federation in Krakow,' Sikorski said in a statement. The fire broke out May 12, 2024, in the Marywilska 44 shopping center that housed some 1,400 shops and service points. Many of the vendors were from Vietnam, and it inflicted tragedy on many in Warsaw's Vietnamese community.
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Poland to close Russian consulate in Krakow
WARSAW, May 12 (Reuters) - Poland has withdrawn consent for the operation of the Russian consulate in Krakow due to evidence that Moscow was responsible for a massive fire that nearly completely destroyed a Warsaw shopping centre in May 2024, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a post on X on Monday.
